Fiorentino Drag Test with United Space
Alliance Successful
Fiorentino Para-Anchor to be Used by NASA’s
Orion Spacecraft

NEWPORT BEACH, Ca – Fiorentino Para-Anchor
announces a successful on-water test of its
parachute sea anchor which is scheduled to be
deployedwhen NASA’s new Orion spacecraftreturns from its first beyond low Earth
orbit flight test.

Representatives of Houston-based United Space
Alliance, subcontractor to Lockheed Martin on
the Orion project, watched the test in the
harbor at Long Beach, CA.

Fiorentino's Zack Smith, well known researcher
and lecturer on the USA Boat Show circuit,
conducted the test involving load
strengths and drag characteristics of a six-foot
diameter parachute sea anchor, including
accessory components of rope, bow shackle and
snap shackle, towed by a crewed 100-foot tug
vessel. The test was conducted principally to
measure drag characteristics, including force
and other critical elements, in evaluating the
equipment for its ability to stabilize a space
module upon sea impact.

At the end of Orion’s planned 2014 unmanned
Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) mission, the
16.5-foot diameter, 18,000 lbs. crew module
capsule is expected to splashdown in seas up to
Sea State 3(the general condition of the free
surface on a large body of water with respect to
wind waves and swell at a certain location and
moment, in this case 0.5 to 1.25 meters wave
height with sea characteristics as ‘slight.’).

Wulf von Eckroth, design engineer with United
Space Alliance, noted that two Fiorentino chutes
(one for actual use and one for back-up) will be
used to stabilize the floating spacecraft crew
module. “We wantedthetest to load the six- footdiameter Fiorentino Para-Anchor to about
330 pounds which is equal to 150% of the
expected load thatthe capsule would encounter in Sea State
3 conditions, “ he says . “ We gotto 330 pounds for the functional load
test and we took it even beyond to 800 pounds
for five minutes, proving the Fiorentino
parachute anchor performed above the 150%
requisite load test we required so the test was
successful. “

Gary Rohrkaste, United Space Alliance project
manager for the Sea Anchor explained, “Orion
will always have a water landing and the
Para-Anchor drag chute will be used on all
capsule recoveries. The capsule has very little
draft and wants to move right along the water.
The parachute keeps the capsule from drifting
too fast in the water and orients the large
module for the rest of the recovery.”

The Orion spacecraft is America’s next human
space flight system being developed with
capabilities to take astronauts on
long-duration, deep space missions beyond low
Earth orbit to future destinations like
asteroids, the moon and someday Mars. During the
2014 unmanned flight test, Orion will reach an
altitude of 3,600 miles over the Earth’s
surface, more than 15 times farther away than
the International Space Station, and then return
for a splashdown.NASA’s currently plans a second unmanned
Orion mission in 2017 and a manned mission in
2021.

“Parachute anchor test #13, (the chute has gone
through 12 prior tests on other projects) is
primarily useful to the Orion project in
determining the strength of the individual parts
making up the drag device, “says Zack Smith.“It also provides information on how much
or how little the product spins or yaws or if a
specific part fails to perform correctly.”

For the tug test, according to Smith, a tension
load cell was utilized that measures the amount
of force placed on the object to which it’s
attached and a battery operated digital
indicator that registers the numbers on a
monitor. For the test, the load cell was
attached to an amidships rope bridle (with
virtually no stretch), anchored to port and
starboard posts. A 96.6-foot, 5/8 inch double
braid Dacron/nylon rode (which does stretch)
with splice and thimble on both ends of the rode
was attached to the “eye” of the load cell that
faced the tug’s transom.The measurement from the load cell “eye”
to the boat’s stern was 25 feet.

Smith reports that an inspection of the
parachute sea anchor and all the stainless steel
hardware used in the test showed no sign of
damage or wear throughout the entire system.Charts of drag speed characteristics and
recorded measurements in Tech Report FPA-152 are
available on Fiorentino’s website at
www.para-anchor.com /info.perform.html.

Zack
Smith is a well-known drag device inventor and
the head of Fiorentino’s Research and Design
Team. Under his guidance, Fiorentino’s team
conducted 15 years of sea trials on varying drag
devices which resulted in innovative drag device
designs and the pioneering “Constant Rode
Tension Theory.” This theory states that keeping
the rode taut through specific rode adjustment,
weight placement next to the drag device, and
the use of shorter rode and bridles or
Fiorentino’s unique "free flying riding sail
"setup are the secrets of successful use of
parachute sea anchors and storm drogues. Smith
worked previously with NASA on its Orion project
in 2008 and received a NASA Team Achievement
Award. He has also done numerous contract
projects with the USCG, Navy, NAVSEA and SPAWAR.
He recently produced “The Complete Para-Anchor
Set-up, Second Edition DVD which is available at
www.para-anchor.com.

Fiorentino Para-Anchor has been a leader in
education and the development of parachute sea
anchors and storm drogues for over fifty years.
The company concentrates on advanced technical
designs and quality materials unmatched in the
industry to provide sailors with quality safety
products.